deskthority

It took me a while, I started writing this guide two years ago but the first part is finally finished. This basically supersedes my previous guides I posted here on Deskthority 7 years ago (holy smokes!).

If you are interested the "book" covers everything you need to hand-wire a custom keyboard. From soldering to building the firmware. It's pretty long so I'm hosting it on my website.

The action takes place in the last two chapters: Hand-wiring a custom keyboard (yeah it includes a video tutorial) and Building a keyboard firmware but if you are at your first hand-wiring experience I'd suggest to start from the beginning.

The work is not over though. In the coming weeks I'll work on a PCB design tutorial and possibly some basic CAD to build laser cut keyboards.

If you have suggestions or spot any error please let me know. If you are following my tutorial and encounter any problem, this is a good place to post your questions. If you build any keyboard thank to my work, please post some pictures! And remember to share the guide with your friends.

The work is licensed under CC-BY-SA so you are free and actually encouraged to do whatever you want with it as long as you give credit and you redistribute under the same license. My site has no ADs and no tracking. The videos on youtube are not monetized.

Happy making!

I've wanted to builld a macropad for a while. I'm going to follow your guide. Appreciate and looks good thanks!

I haven't done any handwiring yet, but given the pins' offset on MX-type switches would it be reasonable to solder the row diodes directly between two switches rather than using wire? (However it would preclude your "naked wire" approach on the columns.)

Darkshado wrote: 03 May 2020, 22:40 I haven't done any handwiring yet, but given the pins' offset on MX-type switches would it be reasonable to solder the row diodes directly between two switches rather than using wire? (However it would preclude your "naked wire" approach on the columns.)

yes it's totally viable, I've always done that in the past but I find the wire solution to be easier and faster. You could also use enamel wire.

This guide is awesome! Thank you so much for writing it.

I'm trying to convert a vintage board and it has a caps lock light, is there anyway to get that working?

wadeak78 wrote: 11 May 2020, 23:49 I'm trying to convert a vintage board and it has a caps lock light, is there anyway to get that working?

I believe that is possible but it has to be coded. Check here https://docs.qmk.fm/#/custom_quantum_fu ... ed-control

Your best bet is to search between the keyboard examples one that has a led indicator.